By Kylie Blanchard

Photography: Photos by Jacy

“There’s more to business coaching than just business,” says Mary Jo Van Horn, business coach and owner of Van Horn Media Inc. “Business coaching helps business owners and entrepreneurs grow their business. It helps them to shift from the reality of where they are to where they want to be.”

Mary Jo, who has owned Van Horn Media for more than a decade, has also been coaching business owners in recent years. She says she was drawn to business coaching through her own experiences.

“When I started Van Horn Media 13 years ago, offering media planning and buying services, it was a fast success, but I kept feeling like there was something bigger I should be doing.”

In 2009, Mary Jo co-founded a software company with her best friend.

“It wasn’t a fast success. Within 18 months the friendship was over, I bought out her shares, and threw myself into the work,” she recalls. ‘On the outside, I put on a brave face.  But on the inside, I felt like a failure.  And eventually, I hit the wall of total exhaustion. When I hit rock bottom and admitted I needed help, and accepted help, I started this journey to build myself back up. I invested in coaching and saw how much it helped.

“Through this experience I was so drawn to this impact and path I started getting my coaching certifications,” she continues. “I feel called to help others, and I am also doing something that is fulfilling to me.”

Mary Jo focuses on one-on-one coaching with clients.

“It’s not cookie cutter by any means,” she notes. “We start with where a client feels stuck and then focus on where the client wants to be. Everyone’s version of success is different, and we look at how we want their business to look.”

Her business coaching is also focused on a client’s thoughts and energy.

“Business building is around 90 percent thoughts and energy and only 10 percent strategy. If you are stuck, it’s almost always a thought process or limiting belief.

“Ninety-five percent of problems individuals think are business problems are really personal problems in disguise,” Mary Jo adds.

Sommer Jacob, owner of Studio North, which specializes in helping women entrepreneurs transform and grow their business by designing an authentic, magnetic brand, was a client of Mary Jo’s and quickly realized the benefits of business coaching.

“I believe we learn from others and we grow through our connections,” she says. “I’ve worked with many coaches over the years on both personal and professional levels and find so much value in coaching.”

Sommer says she was first drawn to Mary Jo as a mentor.

“She was successful in her businesses, I was just starting mine, and I wanted to know how she got there,” Sommer notes. “When she shared with me that she was going to become a coach, I was thrilled! I was fortunate enough to be one of her first clients. Like most people, having someone to help keep me accountable to my own promises, helps me to achieve my goals.”

Sommer invested in several of Mary Jo’s programs. The Soulmate Client® Intensive and Clarity, Confidence & Sales program were her favorites.

“The top three points, which have given me the biggest return on investment, are: developing a sales conversation; creating clarity around my soulmate client; and focusing my marketing based on my soulmate client.

“With the clarity I have now, I’m able to spend my time working with clients who energize me and give me so much satisfaction,” Sommer continues. “They are ready to take their business to the next level, which excites me. I work less, make more money and am happy.”

Sommer says she’d recommend coaching services to other women wanting to grow their business with ease and spend their time doing what they love.

“Some people believe they have to work really hard and struggle to become successful. Mary Jo challenges those self-limiting beliefs and gives you guidance to create a life of abundance, balance and richness.”

Mary Jo says she uses a business coach herself, a practice she plans to continue.

“I’ll never be without some type of coaching support,” she says. “With the right coach, you get a new perspective and faster and better results instead of trying to figure it out on your own. It’s never too late as a woman to create or transform your own business in a way that feels authentic to you.”

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Kylie Blanchard is a local writer and a busy mom and wife who loves being active, but also enjoys sitting down to read a great book.